Medusa (mythology)

Greek mythology encompasses a large number of mythical beasts, heroes, gods, and goddesses. One of the most well-known monsters in Greek mythology is the Gorgon Medusa. Like other Gorgons, Medusa is depicted as a woman with dozens of writhing snakes in place of her hair. Unlike the other Gorgons, Medusa was mortal. The Greek hero PerseusPerseus, famous for founding Mycenae and saving the princess Andromeda from a sea monster, slayed Medusa.

Ancient Greek Mythology

The Greek gods were more human-like than the gods of many other cultures. They were not all-powerful. Greek gods made mistakes, schemed, feuded, loved, married, and had children. They demanded worship from humans, and many commonly intervened in mortal affairs. Many mythical, immortal beings were also worshipped as gods.

Experts have divided the immortal beings that the ancient Greeks worshipped into roughly eight classes. The first class consists of Protogenoi. The Protogenoi were anthropomorphic manifestations of physical qualities of the universe, such as Earth, Night, Day, and Sea. The Protogenoi were not beings with control over their particular spheres. Instead, the ancient Greeks believed these physical aspects of the world were all conscious and alive in their own ways.

The second class of immortal beings is the nymphs. These were primarily benevolent nature spirits that looked like beautiful human women. Nymphs were inseparable from their particular area of nature. For example, river nymphs were considered a part of the river and forest nymphs a part of the forest.

The third class of immortal beings consists of the powerful spirits believed to affect human bodies and emotion. These included phenomena such as sleep, joy, love, hate, fear, old age, and death. Each was said to have a unique name and personality.

The fourth class is a broad class consisting of most lesser-known gods. These include the Titans (the original gods), the gods who governed nature, and the gods of the underworld. This class also includes humans who, through their great and admirable deeds, were raised to godhood and worshipped accordingly.

The fifth class consists of the well-known Olympian gods. These gods were very important to the ancient Greeks. They were descended from the powerful Titans but eventually managed to overthrow their rule. The Olympian gods were ruled by Zeus, the god of the sky, and his sister-wife Hera.

The sixth class consists of constellations. To the ancient Greeks, constellations were people or events immortalized by the Olympian gods. The Greeks did not think that the constellations themselves were conscious but rather that they were inhabited by the spirits of those honored by the gods.

The seventh class includes the mythical monsters. In Greek myths, powerful monsters were often descended from the gods themselves. These monsters included the Gorgons, the Giants, the Sirens, dragons, and centaurs. These beings were considered semidivine, and many were immortal or almost impossible to slay.

The eighth class consists exclusively of formerly human deities, many of whom were great heroes in life. These included Achilles, Theseus, and Hercules. This class often overlaps with the fourth class.

Medusa’s Origins

Medusa was originally a beautiful human. She had dedicated herself to the Olympian goddess Athena as a priestess. As part of their lifestyle, priestesses of Athena were required to remain virgins. However, the powerful sea-god Poseidon fell in love with Medusa. He was particularly attracted to the priestess’s beautiful golden hair. The god seduced Medusa and laid with her in Athena’s temple.

When Athena learned of these events, the goddess felt personally betrayed. In a rage, she stripped Medusa of her beauty and turned her into a Gorgon. Gorgons were powerful, immortal monsters. They resembled women but had the tusks of boars for teeth, scales for skin, and writhing snakes on their heads instead of hair. Most famously, Gorgons could turn anyone to stone simply by looking at them. Because Medusa was originally a mortal, however, she retained her mortality even in her Gorgon form.

Perseus and Medusa

Perseus was one of the original Greek heroes. He was fathered by Zeus, and an oracle foretold that Perseus would kill his grandfather. To prevent this from happening, his grandfather locked baby Perseus and his mother in a chest and tossed it into the sea. If Perseus died, his grandfather reasoned, he could blame the god of the sea for killing Zeus's son instead of taking the blame himself.

Perseus survived, however, and he eventually became a famous warrior. To stop a cruel man from marrying his mother, Perseus agreed to bring the man any wedding gift he wanted as long as he agreed to wed another local woman. In an attempt to have Perseus killed, the man demanded Medusa’s head as his gift. Perseus agreed to retrieve it.

Because of his divine father, Perseus received help from the Olympian gods. He received a pair of winged sandals that allowed him to fly and a helmet that made him invisible. The hero snuck up on Medusa, severed her head with his sword, and placed the head in his bag. When her blood spilled, it formed the mythical winged horse Pegasus and a terrifying giant. The giant alerted the other Gorgons, and Perseus used his magical items to flee before he was killed.

Medusa’s head retained its power to turn people to stone even after death. Perseus used it to defeat his foes before giving it to the goddess Athena. The goddess attached it to Zeus’s shield, making the artifact incredibly powerful. Historically, the image of Medusa’s head was placed on shields, breastplates, and other items to ward off evil.

Bibliography

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Howe, Thalia Phillies. "The Origin and Function of the Gorgon-Head." American Journal of Archaeology 58.3 (July 1954): 209–221. Web. 2 June 2015. http://www.jstor.org/stable/500901?seq=1#page‗scan‗tab‗contents

"Medousa & Gorgones." Theoi.com. Theoi Project. Web. 2 June 2015. http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Gorgones.html

"The Pantheon." Theoi.com. Theoi Project. Web. 2 June 2015. http://www.theoi.com/Pantheon.html